Southport began 2016 by registering a record-equalling seventh straight league victory but they have now gone just as many games without a win.

When Dino Maamria’s side picked up maximum points against Wrexham on January 2, the Sandgrounders were the in-form team in the Vanarama National League and it looked as though no one would stop them.

Almost two months on and Southport have not registered another win since, as they now find themselves back in the fight to avoid relegation.

A listless defeat at the hands of Boreham Wood saw Maamria’s team slip to within six points of the bottom four and their current slump shows no sign of ending.

The problem for Southport in recent weeks has been scoring goals and once again they created worryingly few chances against a side who began the day in the final relegation place.

Although the Sandgrounders saw plenty of the ball, particularly at the start of each half, their play carried no threat and they were unable to make an impression on a well-drilled visiting rearguard.

The closest Port came to a goal was when Andy Wright directed a header onto a post from Adam Blakeman’s free-kick. That chance came when the match was goalless and, had Wright’s effort gone in, the game would no doubt have taken a very different course.

Instead, it turned into a frustratingly familiar tale for Maamria’s team, who suffered their fourth loss in five matches.

Southport’s remarkable run over the festive period had gone a long way to helping them recover from a wretched first half of the season but this was as poor as anything served up during those early months.

Boreham Wood went ahead on 16 minutes, as a misjudged header from Liam Nolan allowed the dangerous Delano Sam-Yorke to steal in behind the Southport defence. He cut the ball back to Luke Howell, who dispatched a low first-time shot.

Southport could probably count themselves unlucky to fall behind, Sam Cox clearing a Jamie Allen shot off the goal-line after Wright had been denied by the woodwork but, once ahead, the visitors wasted little time in increasing their lead just before the half-hour.

Sam-Yorke was again involved with good work on the left, before feeding Ricky Shakes, who slickly teed up Howell to find the bottom right-hand corner.

The visitors were always in control and after Southport goalkeeper Max Crocombe had foiled Sam-Yorke, Boreham Wood added a third 15 minutes from time when David Stephens prodded home from close range.